FLUSHING, NY — Out of the gate of the All-Star break, Reds left-handed starter Nick Lodolo appeared to be dialed in, putting on one of his best performances of the 2025 campaign Friday night in Cincinnati’s series-opening 8-4 win over the Mets at Citi Field.
With a dynamic four-pitch arsenal consisting of a four-seam fastball, curveball, changeup, and sinker, the 28-year-old southpaw mowed down seven Mets batters across seven innings and surrendered just two earned runs—a Juan Soto solo home run in the bottom of the first and a Jeff McNeil one-run single an inning later.
Tying for his longest outing of the year; a seven inning masterclass of two hits, a walk and zero runs vs. the Rockies on April 27th, Lodolo was able to retire 16 of the next 18 hitters following McNeil’s one-run single, including a strikeout on each, Soto and Pete Alonso—two of his seven Ks on the night.
Juan Soto hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s series opener for his 24th HR of the season – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“I was able to find a rhythm,” Lodolo said of his start, allowing four hits and a walk. “I think as the game went on, everything just got better.”
Though, it wasn’t just Lodolo, lowering his season ERA to 3.33, who continued to dial in as the night went on.
His teammates and coaches were as well. Led by longtime manager and future Cooperstown Hall of Famer Terry Francona, Cincinnati reportedly held an optional workout at Citi Field Thursday night, where the whole team showed up to complete batting practice and individual workouts.
Not the usual routine for a ballclub and players returning from the All-Star break and their respective four-day layoff. Nonetheless, when a National League Wild Card spot is in reach, 2.0 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot prior to Friday, teams may get creative.
“You sit around for four days and it’s always probably the most anxiety of the year,” Francona noted in the postgame. “I had less this year just because the guys came out and worked out last night. I’ve never seen that before and I’ve been doing this for a lot of years. And you’re always worried. Lodolo’s out here, he threw. They were ready to play.”
Once trailing 2-0 after three innings of play, Cincinnati responded back to score eight unanswered runs until the Mets’ final opportunity in the ninth, where New York tacked on two to make it a 8-4 ballgame, which was the eventual final score.
“It didn’t start out great, but to Lodolo’s credit, he really buckled down,” Francona said. “He got us through seven and once we started scoring, he held them down.”
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